1. Field of the Invention
The present invention generally relates to computer-aided design and, more particularly, to a method for generating regular elements in a computer-aided design drawing.
2. Description of the Related Art
The term computer-aided design (CAD) generally refers to a broad variety of computer-based tools used by architects, engineers, and other construction and design professionals. CAD applications may be used to construct computer models representing virtually any real-world construct. For example, CAD applications are frequently used to compose graphical representations of civil engineering constructs such as beams, walls and columns. Using a CAD application, a user may compose a CAD drawing by selecting drawing elements and positioning them within the drawing. Typically, drawing elements are provided to represent elements of the object being modeled.
In composing a drawing for a building, there are often sets of elements that are laid-out in regular fashion. This is particularly true of structural members. For example, columns often conform to a regular grid and beams typically connect columns at each floor. In a similar manner, floor and roof joists span floor beams and roof girders at regular intervals.
The process of creating these elements is time-consuming and often tedious. In the example of structural members, a discrete drawing process must be undertaken for each structural member drawn. For each structural member to be drawn, a start point and an end point must be identified first, and then the structural member will be drawn between the start and end points. In other words, the structural members must be drawn one at a time.
A software product provided by VisionREZ partially automates the process of drawing regular elements. With this software, the user selects a bay and then enters into a dialog mode. While in this mode, the user makes numerical inputs into an input window, e.g., to specify the number of beams or floor joists to add to the bay, and the spacing between them. When the user submits these inputs for processing, the regular elements are generated in accordance with the inputs and saved into the drawing. For any modifications, the user will need to re-enter the dialog mode and edit the prior inputs.